In our exclusive interview, the former Premier League and England defender also discusses Nottingham Forest's new head coach, Tottenham's relegation battle, his time managing Manchester City and his playing days at Coventry.
Stuart Pearce believes Arsenal will win the Premier League, despite the pressure being put on them by both the media and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta’s team are top of the table and remain in all three cup competitions, including the Champions League where they were unbeaten in the group stage. Arsenal are currently / in the football betting to win the Premier League this season.
In our exclusive interview, the Premier League and England legend also discusses the new Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira, Tottenham and West Ham’s relegation battle, Marc Guehi’s instant impact at Manchester City and Coventry’s continued push for promotion.
Vitor Pereira had a good result against Fenerbahce in Europe and an unlucky loss to Liverpool in his first Premier League game – what did you make of his start?
Obviously, he’s only had two games so it’s difficult to judge on that respect. It was a good result in Europe, but I think there was a game to be won against Liverpool. I don’t think Liverpool played particularly well on the day and were very fortunate to get away with a victory. But sometimes in games like that, you’ve got to take it to the opposition and Forest didn’t.
I think that’s probably been their problem. They’ve galvanised some good results this year and then dropped away a little bit and not been consistent with those runs.
Do Forest have what it takes to go all the way in the Europa League?
On their day, they can beat anybody. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. Where they’re struggling a little bit is in front of goal. That would be the question mark. I think on their day they’re a match for anybody and they’ve had good results this year. Beating Liverpool 3-0 away from home in the league is testament to that, but probably in front of goal might be their undoing.
Murillo has been a revelation for Forest over the past couple of seasons – where do you rate him amongst the best centre-backs in the Premier League?
I would put him in the top echelons, but not at the top. I look at the likes of Guehi, Gabriel and Van Dijk on a level of consistency that are higher than him. So they’re the ones I’d put on the top platform. But certainly, he comes very, very close to that.
What you’ve also got to consider is that he’s still a young man at 23 years old.
He’s still got a lot of developing to do as a central defender and someone of his age playing in the position he does is testament to how well he’s doing in the Premier League. I really like him, he’s good on the ball, defensively pretty good. So, I think in the position he plays as well, he’ll only get better.
Is the Nottingham job one of the hardest managerial positions in the Premier League now?
I personally don’t think so. I think in many ways you probably know where you stand with the owner, and that for any manager is eutopia in some ways. Yeah, he’s got exacting standards, but he’s put finance into the football club. But I know the hurt that the club has suffered through 23 years of not being in the Premier League. So the stakes are very high in keeping the club in the league.
There’s still a little bit of me thinking if you want to keep the team in the Premier League, Sean Dyche would have done as good a job as Pereira.
Spurs have also brought in a new interim head coach in Igor Tudor – how do you see that going for them and what is your opinion on the ‘interim’ type of role for managers?
I think in some ways it gives both parties time to have a look at each other. You might say Thomas Tuchel was interim potentially, but he just extended his contract with England because I think he enjoys the job and they enjoy what they’ve seen. So I think it’s got its upsides, no doubt about that.
But with the fragility of management in this day and age, long contracts are in many ways slightly irrelevant. So I don’t think it’s a problem. What Spurs need is an uplift, and obviously the first game at the weekend was a tough start against arguably the best side in the country at the moment.
But the bottom line is, the focus at Tottenham is make sure you don’t get relegated. If Forest and West Ham find a bit of form, followed by a bad result for Tottenham and a good result for both of them, all of a sudden it gets very, very nervous at the bottom of the league.
Spurs suffered a heavy defeat in the North London derby in Tudor’s first game – where do you see them going from here with Forest and West Ham both looking to avoid relegation?
I think Spurs could be fortunate, having looked at their fixtures from now until the end of the season, they’ve got some decent games at home that are all winnable against teams that they should be taking points from.
Potentially they need three victories out of the 11 games they’ve got left, and that’s more than doable, especially with the home fixtures. I think they’ll be okay. But what they need is to make sure in these 11 games that they put a building platform down for next season.
We have a two-way title fight on our hands between Arsenal and Man City – do Arsenal finally have the squad depth and mentality to get over the line, or will City’s trophy-winning experience make the difference?
I’ve got to say, in the summer I was asked who I thought would win the league and I said Liverpool. I thought they were looking almost unbeatable, but they had a real bad start to the season and probably from around October onwards, I fancied Arsenal to win the league. My mind hasn’t changed on that.
City have looked a little bit fragile defensively and allowed too many chances on their goal over the period of time that I’ve been looking at the Premier League. That has put the question mark in my mind. But with the addition of Guehi at the back, and Semenyo coming in as well, it has really levelled the playing field in many ways. But I still feel as though Arsenal have got a really good, strong squad.
I think the only thing that they haven’t done right this year is 45 minutes in the second half against Wolverhampton – I think they were really poor then. Aside from that, they’ve won eight out of eight in the Champions League, they’re in the final of the Carabao Cup, they’ve got a decent draw in the FA Cup and they’re top of the league.
It’s very difficult to criticise and I know people in the media are trying to heap pressure on Arsenal. With the pressure coming from Manchester City, it’s an intriguing title race for all of us to watch, but I still fancy Arsenal. As long as they’re strong enough within the dressing room, I think they’ll win the league.
Marc Guehi has slotted into the City team seamlessly. What has he brought to the club that they were perhaps missing beforehand?
The ability to read the game is a really big thing. You might say, well, all players can do that. But the way Manchester City play when they are spread out and getting men forward in the front line, sometimes they can be vulnerable on the counter-attack. Mark Guehi has got the ability to deal with one-on-one situations.
In the Newcastle game on Sunday, there was probably two or three occasions where City were counter-attacked by the pace of Gordon and Elanga, but he dealt with those situations and that’s vital. But also at half-time, they bought on Khusanov for his added pace to deal with that as well. I wouldn’t say Guehi is a speed merchant, but he reads the game extremely well and gives himself an extra yard.
So, from the Guehi point of view, he’s the first name on the England team sheet for me this summer and an incredible addition for Manchester City. If anything tips the balance in their favour with the league title this year, it might be him.
How do you see the left-back position shaping up for England, especially now that Nico O’Reilly has started playing more in midfield at City?
I think the fact that he can play in both roles gets him in the World Cup squad without a doubt. His performance at the weekend, scoring a couple of fantastic goals was outstanding.
I don’t know whether he’ll become the victim of his own success by not playing one position, because I think he’s got more chance of getting in the England team as a left-back, as we’ve got an abundance of wealth in midfield. It’s not to say he can’t, but from England’s point of view, I’d like to see him play more at left-back.
Rayan Cherki has been a big influence for much of the season, but he’s struggled recently – just one goal and no assists in last nine PL games while struggling for starts. What does he need to do to get back in favour?
I think Manchester City set the bar so high and Pep rotates the players on form. But Phil Foden was in form not so long ago, now all of a sudden he’s found himself on the bench. So the bar is so high at Manchester City. I thought Cherki had good influence when he came on against Newcastle because he offers City something slightly different.
I’ve really liked watching him because I think it gives City a different edge to what they’ve already got. So I think it’s a time thing with him. I think he’s got the class and is just going through a slightly barren period stat-wise, but I still think he’s got so much to offer.
What do you see for Pep’s future after Man City? And what direction do City go in after his departure?
When you look at all football clubs around the world and look at how stable certain clubs are, Manchester City are one of the most stable of the lot. With the manager, you don’t see the owners clamouring for headlines. But it’s going to be a big, big ask to replace him when he leaves.
Whether you look at a like-for-like replacement potentially, they’ve got feeder clubs around the world, but have they got managers around the world that might come in from their other clubs? That might be something going forward. A total change of style might set them back slightly.
Can you replicate what he’s achieved already? It’s been absolutely incredible. Obviously, I was at City prior to the wealth and the riches arriving. So you can see the impact he’s had. I would try and hang on to him as long as humanly possible.
There’s been talk over the last few years about him packing it in. Personally, if I was City, I would just keep him there – you might even want to keep him there as a director of football afterwards.
What do you remember from when Pep Guardiola had his trial at Manchester City and did you ever wish afterwards you had signed him?
I think maybe I should have given him my job as manager. I just remember a really nice fella – him and his agent were fantastic – but it just wasn’t the right time for us. Financially, we didn’t have a great deal of money to spend on wages.
But I often look back and think I wish I’d have kept him on when you consider what he’s gone on to now. But certainly, the way he conducted himself was fantastic. I was fortunate enough to watch him work on the grass during a club visit to Barcelona when I was working for England.
He opened the doors at Barcelona for us, so I’ve got a lot of time and respect for him, not just as a professional but also as a man.
Have you ever spoken about the trial with Pep and what advice did you get from him when you met while he was coaching Barcelona?
We didn’t really talk about his trial, but we certainly watched his team train for a day and then watched the game against Valencia. I was impressed with Puyol in training for sure. He was fantastic and after training finished, we spoke with Pep, wished him all the best for the game.
We had about a half hour talking tactics and picking his brains. He talked for a while and then said, good luck, gentlemen. He walked off and then he stopped, went about 15 yards, then turned around to come back to us. He said, oh, I forgot to tell you the one thing that makes a great team. We said, what’s that? And he said, Lionel Messi.
How do you reflect on your time managing City and what still stands out?
I was really fortunate that I came through on the coaching staff there. In my time coming up and just as I took over the job, I went into board meetings and spent a lot of time with Kevin Keegan.
Kevin looked after me brilliantly as a role model for a young manager. I was in board meetings and used to sit with the CEO and go through the financial situation of the club. So I was acutely aware of what I was inheriting as a manager, and the financial implications there. But it was really good. Obviously, during that time, the club went into the City of Manchester Stadium, moving out of Maine Road.
You’ve got to bear in mind, my last playing year was at Manchester City when we were promoted to the Premier League. But you’re seeing what you’re seeing now, probably because of, in some way, Kevin Keegan’s vision. Don’t ever get misled that Kevin didn’t play his part. This team were the bottom reaches of the Championship when Kevin took over. So he played a massive part in Manchester City’s evolution over the last 26 years.
For me, what a wonderful opportunity it was to manage a brilliant club. The chairman took over, then Kevin left and asked me to take over the club for nine games. That subsequently lasted another two years until the ownership changed. I was at City for six years in total, so I always look back with fond memories.
When you were managing City and put David James up front, how much of that was spur of the moment in the game and how much had you thought about it before?
It was a night before situation. We needed to win the game against Middlesbrough as a draw would be enough to see them into Europe – which is how it ended up. I just thought I need to do something that’s going to excite the fans or at least catch the opposition off guard.
When I look back now, I didn’t totally think it through, the implications on the centre forward Jon Macken. That was poor management on my behalf. But I was so focused on trying to get a result for Manchester City and when we had the ball on the penalty spot on the 82nd minute with Robbie Fowler about to take it to put us 2-1 up, not suggesting that David James’ contribution as a centre forward helped, but I certainly thought it changed the dynamic of the pitch slightly.
But you try these things. Sometimes you’ve got to think about the implications, but the bottom line is it was a moment in time that nearly came off.
What has been the most memorable City game you’ve been to as a pundit and why?
It was a game against Real Madrid at the Etihad in the Champions League semi-finals. I walked out at the stadium, and I’ve been following football and involved in football for over 50 years, but I’ve never seen a standard of play as good as that. It was football but not like I’d ever seen it before. It was just incredible.
One man was responsible for that – Pep Guardiola. It was just incredible. You go to games and you see a goal that you think, I’ve never seen something like that before. One thing sticks up in your mind that makes you think I’ve seen everything and then this happens.
This was a whole game with a level of performance by Manchester City that just wowed me and all my colleagues that were there with me on the night. It was just incredible.
To be good enough in your job to do that to a whole stadium like Pep did that night, putting his team out and making them play in the style that they did was just fantastic.
West Ham have seen some improvement in recent form – how do you see the rest of their season going?
The trouble is that they’ve got a bit of a gap at the bottom. But the plus side of that is they’re playing with confidence and form now. I don’t know whether that’s tied in with Lucas Paqueta leaving the club, but they seem to have a togetherness at the moment in their play.
So I think they certainly can get some results. It’s going to be a really tight struggle. I think they’re in Forest’s hands a little bit because Forest have got that buffer at the moment, but all it takes is West Ham and Forest to win this weekend and Tottenham to get beaten. All of a sudden people will be wondering which way it will go.
It’s intriguing for all of us as they’re playing with confidence and form. Out of the bottom three sides, Spurs, Forest and West Ham – they’re probably playing with the most confidence at present.
What areas need to improve for the Hammers for them to avoid relegation?
They need to be more solid defensively. They’ve got to make sure that they can grind out result to nil anytime they need to if they possibly can. They look as though they’ve become a little bit more solid.
They looked very flimsy from corners and set plays earlier in the season. But I think with Soucek in the team more consistently, he helps solve that problem.
Do you believe the new signings are enough to keep West Ham from relegation?
They look an improvement on what they’ve had, without a doubt. Castellanos looks as though he’s got good energy at the front of the team. Mateus Fernandes in midfield, I know he’s not a new signing, but he looks as though he’s playing quite well at the moment. Disasi is also going to improve the back line, without a doubt.
What did you think when topflight Coventry City offered £25,000 to Wealdstone for you back in 1983 – a move that launched your professional career?
It was a real change. Within a week, I turned from an electrician to the equivalent of a Premier League footballer. But obviously at the time I had to take a wage cut to do so. It was different times.
It was a great opportunity, but within a couple of weeks I was in the first team and never came back out really. So I got fortunate that in my first reserve game I played reasonably well. But when you make it into the team, you’ve got to do well to stay there, otherwise people think you’re not good enough for that standard.
The first game I played quite well, so I managed to stay in a team that were also doing quite well at the time too.
You played alongside Trevor Peake and Brian Kilcline, who went on to win the FA Cup with the Sky Blues. What were they like to play with and as teammates on and off the pitch?
Put it this way, Peakey went on to be one of my best friends in football. He was the best man at my first wedding, so it tells you how close we were. Killer (Kilcline) was just brilliant. What a character in football he was.
But prior to Killer coming in, Sam Allardyce was the centre-half I played alongside. We had some real experience in the group. But they were great role models for me, people like Kenny Hibbitt, Bob Latchford, Peter Barnes from Man City. Martin Jol was at the club as well over the two-year period I was there, so there was some real experience.
But we also had players that had been given the chance, like myself, Mickey Gynn and Trevor Peake who were coming up from the lower leagues.
If this Coventry side win the Championship and finally return to the topflight, will they be revered like the FA Cup winning side?
For me, it won’t be on a level with that. But I think the achievement has been brilliant so far. I’ve worked with Frank Lampard as a player and obviously on a coaching level, he’s an incredible professional and everything that a professional should be. He’s done a magnificent job there. There’s no doubt if he can get them promoted, it’s a massive achievement.
I think the FA Cup victory is a slightly bigger achievement in Coventry’s history, but this could rank second potentially, certainly over recent history in the last 50 or so years, no doubt about that.
But let’s not underestimate how brilliantly they’ve done. They’ve led the Championship for most of the season, so my fingers are crossed that they do get promoted. I think the club need that. They’ve had some tough periods over the last few decades, but certainly they’re going in the right direction at the moment with an outstanding manager.
Do you think Frank Lampard has what it takes to take this Coventry side all the way, and could that be sustained in the Premiership?
I think he’s an individual that’s very professional. He certainly was as a player. He loves the game, but he’s never struck me as an individual with an ego, so he’s very level. I think that plays a big part in modern day management – not getting too high or too low.
He’s been around the block and seen everything. I think there’ll be a squad of players that look at Frank and even when they suffer a rocky result, he’ll be nice and calm. Sunderland have been a great yardstick this year for a promoted teams because they’ve done extremely well. So I see no reason why Coventry can’t achieve that as well if they get promoted.
